FullAngel Alchemist
by tsukasa030
Summary: The Gate' doesn't take Ed's arm and leg when he and Alphonse attempted to resurrect their mother. This time it takes much more.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. Just this fic.

**FullAngel Alchemist**

Thoughts _"blah"_

Chapter 1

After throwing all of the ingredients necessary to create a human body into a transmutation circle young Edward Elric rechecked his math to be sure that nothing would go wrong. Feeling confident that everything was set he and his younger brother Alphonse kneeled down outside of the circle. "Ready Al?", he asked.

"Ready brother.", replied Al despite feeling extremely uneasy about doing this. The younger brother had also read all of the stories about attempted human transmutations and he knew that nearly everyone of those alchemists ended up dead as a result of such blasphemy. The only reason he was doing this now was because like his older brother he just wanted to see their mother's smile one more time.

Ed set down the paintbrush that he'd used to draw the circle and placed his hands on the outer edges of the circle. Al followed suit and together they triggered the Alchemic reaction. At first everything seemed to be going well as they were surrounded by a beautiful gold light and the body of their late mother began to form, but then something went wrong. The gold light was quickly replaced by a malicious dark purple glow and an unnatural wind swept through the basement nearly knocking the two boys over.

That's when Alphonse felt something strange with his own body causing him to look down. Strange black hands seemed to be latching onto his body trying to tear it apart and he screamed, "Brother help me! What's happening!"

Ed heard the distressed cries of his little brother and moved to help him, but was held back when he felt something. He looked at his hand to see the same black hands attacking his hand in an attempt to remove it. He vainly swatted at the hands trying to stop them, but his hand passed right through them. He turned back to his brother and using his left hand reached out to Al. Just before their hands could meet Al's body just disintegrated leaving Ed with a bloody stump where his right arm used to be.

Not wasting time Ed used his remaining arm to draw transmutation circles on himself and a suit of armor in the corner. _"It's not too late. I can still save Al."_, he thought as he frantically finished the blood seal in the armor. Placing his hand on the circles on his own body he attempted to summon 'The Gate' again and offered everything he had to bring Alphonse back. He blacked out before the transmutation was complete.

* * *

When Ed awoke he was lying in front of 'The Gate' and the doors were closed. "Please, give Al back. It was my fault, not his. He shouldn't be punished for my mistakes.", he pleaded not seeing anyone or anything other than the ominous looking 'Gate'. 

-Silence child. You dare to ask for your brother's life after such a blasphemous act? Did you learn nothing?-

Ed was angered by the booming voice that echoed throughout wherever he was now. "It's not right for Al to suffer for something that I made him do. You can't do this to him. Please just take what you want from me and bring him back.", he offered in a venomous tone. He wished he knew who the voice was and where to find it, but since he didn't he just stared at 'The Gate'.

The voice laughed only agitating Edward more.

-I child am the Gate itself, it's essence. And yes I can read your every thought and desire.-

Now Ed was starting to get scared, but he'd be damned if he turn tail abandoning Al when he needed him most. _"I've gotta have something to trade for Al's life. Just figure out what this thing wants Ed."_, he thought knowing that he'd give up everything including his humanity for Al.

-Interesting idea young Edward.-

Ed paled realizing what the Gate had just read. It was planning something now and he knew that he didn't have a chance of escaping it's cruel judgment.

-Now, now Ed. I'm not completely heartless, but you and your brother did trespass on forbidden ground. I'll attach Al's soul to the armor for you, but the price you pay for such a...generous act will be steep! For the price shall be your humanity.-

"What? What do you mean?", Ed called out fearing that he was about to become a soulless monster.

-Not quite Ed, but close. Your punishment shall be the loss of your mortality...you shall spend the rest of eternity as a fallen angel. You shall no place in the Heavens or Hell.-

As the voice spoke Ed's back felt like a wild animal was trying to break through. He grit his teeth as the pain became more and more intense overpowering all of his other senses. Ed felt two areas in his back begin to split and he cried out in pain despite his best efforts to hold it in. _"I'm sorry Al. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."_, he thought as two huge white wings tore out of his back. The pain should have caused him to blackout at this point, but he somehow knew the Gate was overriding his body's defense mechanism forcing him to endure the pain as part of his punishment. He felt the wings growing more and the muscles attaching themselves inside of his body to support these new appendages.

When it was finally over and the pain died down to something that he could manage he looked over his wings. His blood now stained the white feathers and had begun to dry. _"What's happened to me?"_, he thought before passing out again.

* * *

When he came to a second time he didn't have to look behind him to know that the wings were still there. He could still feel the intense pain and could do little more than let them hang without causing himself more pain. Looking towards where their mother was supposed to be he saw something, something hideous staring back at him with glowing red eyes that bore down into his soul. 

He quickly looked away and turned his attention to checking on the wellbeing of Alphonse. Ed gently shook the armor with his remaining hand and it responded, "Brother? What happened? What happened to you? To me?"

Edward could hear the sadness and pain in his brother's voice. It only drove the dagger deeper in his tiny heart. _"I screwed up your life so badly Al...'I'm sorry' just doesn't cut it. I'll find some way to put you back in the flesh. I promise."_, he vowed before looking up into his brother's soft red orbs. Seconds later he repeated the vow aloud to give Al some small measure of comfort.

Al had been shocked by his relocation to the armor, but that eventually wore off and he noticed something white behind Ed. Taking a closer look as his brother passed out from the blood loss he found that his older brother had two huge wings coming from his back reminding Al of an angel. If only he knew just how right he was. He brushed it aside for now and gathered his brother's small body in his arms before rushing to Winry's to get Pinako to patch Ed up. _"Thankfully he doesn't know that I thought of him as small. He'd find some way to hurt me after that."_, Al thought reaching the door.

* * *

Hearing someone knock on her door late at night Pinako walked over to the door with her pipe sticking out of her mouth and asked herself, "Now who could it be at this late hour." The sight that greeted her was not one that she would've expected to ever see. In front of her was a giant suit of armor carrying a one-armed boy that she knew to be Edward Elric. "WHAT HAPPENED!", she demanded getting flustered and also frightened by what she saw. 

Al started begging, "Please, help him." His voice made his fears apparent and it urged the woman to hurry.

"Alphonse?", she asked taking Edward from him, "Good Lord, what have you two done?" She didn't give him time to answer before she called for Winry and they went to work trying to stop the bleeding. Pinako would wait until after Edward was out of danger before she'd rip both Elric's a new one, but seeing the shape that they were in made it hard for her not to cry. When she'd noticed Ed's wings she just assumed that he'd botched a transmutation or somehow he'd fallen into an active circle and been transmuted himself. _"But then why would Alphonse be bound into an armor."_, she thought.

The next morning when Al was finally allowed in to see his brother the elder Elric managed to sit up with help from Winry who was still snuggling into his wings. Ed not really used to this kind of attention from a girl blushed furiously and all but forgot about his and Al's current situation.

Alphonse was watching Ed's reactions and had a hard time not laughing, but contained himself. _"Ed would throw a tantrum if I laughed at him now."_, he thought. His resolve not to laugh nearly broke when Winry started petting Ed's wings despite the boy's fierce protests. Winry silenced the protests the way all Rockbells do...with a wrench. _"Ouch! When will brother ever learn?"_

"Winry knock it off. These are my wings and I don't feel comfortable with you doing that.", said Ed indicating where the young Rockbell had wrapped one wing around her body. For Ed the movements had hurt as his wings were still very sore and would likely be so for quite sometime. _"New appendages that have never been used will naturally feel sore. It should fade once they're used to being used."_, he rationalized trying to pull Winry off of them.

"But ED!...There so soft and fluffy.", Winry said snuggling into one of his wings again after giving him the puppy dog face. _"Jackpot!"_, she thought seeing Ed's facial expression change to indicate that he'd folded. _"He's so easy to manipulate at times."_

"So what happened?", demanded Pinako as she entered the room.

Knowing better than to argue with the old lady Ed gave them all a recap of what'd happened the previous night. "...and that's basically everything."

"So...you were cursed to remain an angel for all eternity?", Winry asked.

Ed looked away, but nodded in confirmation. He slowly looked up at Pinako and said, "Old woman there's some money our mother left in our house."

Pinako cut him off saying, "Don't worry Ed. I'm sure that nobodies going to take it."

Ed shook his head, "No, it payment for automail. I can't carry out my plans with a missing arm." Al perked up not knowing what his brother was up to now and Ed noticed this. "I've heard of the 'Philosopher Stone' which could allow me to put you back into your body Al. But all materials related to the stone are in the hands of the military."

Pinako slapped Ed and yelled at him, "SO WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME A DOG OF THE MILITARY? ARE YOU REALLY SO DESPERATE THAT YOU'D SALE YOUR SOUL TO THOSE MONSTERS?"

"It's my burden to bare. I got Al into this mess, so it's my responsibility to get him out of it.", replied Ed.

Knowing that arguing with Ed was a lost cause Pinako asked, "Are you sure that you can't do anything for your brother as an Angel?"

Ed knew that she was referring to the 'powers' that Angels were said to possess, but he didn't know if he had such powers and he certainly had no idea how to control them even if he did. "No, not that I know of. Even if I did have a way I lack the knowledge to do so. The Gate just made me like this, it didn't give me a full explanation of any powers I may have."

_"Then my favorite nephews are going to become puppets of the state."_, she thought. It's true that the Elrics were not her nephews by blood, but that didn't matter to her. In Pinako's mind her bonds to the Elric family went beyond blood relations to matters of the heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this fic itself.

**FullAngel Alchemist**

Thoughts _"blah"_

Chapter 1

After the ordeal of being cursed by _'The Gate'_ Edward was finally ready to go through with his plan to become a State Alchemist. As he'd grow up a little over the years since he and Al had tried to resurrect their mother, so to did his wings. To conceal their presence Ed hid them underneath his red jacket. He hated having to button the thing up everyday and his wings were always cramped as a result, but the alternative was that the military would probably stick him in a lab somewhere to find out what made the fallen angel tick.

"Brother we have to hurry or we're not going to make it.", called Alphonse. The giant suit of armor was bouncing up and down with excitement at the prospect of taking the test to become a State Alchemist. Access to all of those books was just too exciting for Al.

"Yeah yeah, keep your pants on. I'm coming already.", replied Ed as he readjusted his wings underneath his jacket. They were well hidden and the only times that he ever really had to worry as when he started to molt. His wings were flexible enough that sitting down only cause him some discomfort, but nothing that he couldn't deal with. Every time that they saw Winry the girl just had to rub herself against Ed's wings or else the blonde would meet Winry's trusted wrench.

The Elric brothers quickly made their way to Central HQ where they had to find Mustang. The Colonel had to personally escort them to the test since they were both still under age.

* * *

In Central HQ Mustang's head was lying on a thick stack of paperwork. He was drooling somewhat and every so often he'd mutter 'Riza'. The Colonel had fallen asleep when his trusted aid had left him alone for five minutes with the huge piles of paper.

_-Dream-_

_Mustang looked around to see paperwork for miles around. "Please Hawkeye no more.", he begged dropping to his knees._

_The blonde First Lieutenant merely smiled and called in two huge trucks full of papers that the Colonel would have to sign. "You have to finish all of these Colonel.", said Hawkeye as an aura of fire surrounded her._

_At that moment Mustang knew better than to piss her off now by trying to weasel out of his paperwork. "Yes ma'am.", he said quickly before returning to signing the endless stacks of paper. "There's no way that this can ever be tolerable.", he thought to himself._

_When Mustang looked up again his mouth dropped to the desk and his nose started bleeding. Standing in front of the Colonel holding a gun was Riza Hawkeye wear a revealing tight leather outfit holding a gun in either hand. "Now be a good boy Mustang and do your work.", she said in a seductive voice._

_Mustang couldn't find his ability to speak and settled on just nodding rapidly. "I stand corrected. This is acceptable.", he said giving her a good look over._

_"Colonel...Colonel...COLONEL!"_

_-End Dream-_

When Mustang woke up and realized that it was all just a strange dream he groaned. Hughes tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Roy...uh...you've got problems."

Mustang nodded absent mindedly and said, "Thank you Hughes, but I already know that."

"No not the Elric brothers.", said Hughes. When Roy lifted his head to see what Maes was talking about the Lieutenant Colonel pointed towards the door and said, "You were talking about your dream and...she heard all of it."

The Flame Alchemist looked at the door to see the object of his dreams standing there with a look on her face that clearly said that she was not happy. Roy paled while the rest of the staff moved away or ducked under their desks. "COLONEL!", growled Hawkeye moving her hand towards her gun. He didn't take long to make a run for it knowing this his subordinate was going to kill him if she caught him.

"GET BACK HERE AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!", shouted Riza as she followed in hot pursuit. The angry woman readied her trusty weapon and managed to corner Mustang just outside of the main hall. Unfortunately she couldn't shoot him because he was hiding behind Alphonse and Edward Elric. _"That coward."_, she thought knowing that he was using them as a shield.

"Alright boys it's time for you to take exams.", said Mustang as he lead them away from the First Lieutenant. Roy knew that there would be hell to pay later, but for now at least he was safe.

* * *

The trip the where the first part of the exams were to take place was a short distance away, so they chose to walk instead of ride in a car. Roy informed them all of the specifics of the exams that they should be aware of. "For starters the exams will be divided into three parts. The first part is the written, the second part will be a demonstration of your abilities, and the final test...I can't tell you about. You have to wait until you arrive before you will be told about the final test."

"Oh well. I'm still gonna ace this thing.", replied a confident Edward.

Alphonse sighed and added, "Brother your really shouldn't be so cocky. It won't be as easy as you think." Sometimes it was so easy to forget that Ed was now an Angel...he certainly didn't behave like one.

Roy nodded and said, "He's correct Ed. Most people spend their entire lives trying to pass the exams and few ever do. Don't let your natural talents go to your head because I can assure you that there are people here just as, if not more talented than you are." For Mustang it had taken him six tries and a lot of hard work before he passed the exams.

Despite Ed's attitude he knew that this was going to be difficult, but he didn't want to let his fear get the better of him. He would pass this test no matter what, it was the only way that he could get what he needed to put his little brother back into his body again. He remembered his vow and clenched his real hand into a tight fist. _"I won't fail you this time Alphonse."_

"This is as far as I can take you boys. Good luck.", said Mustang before turning to one of the men responsible for handling candidates. "These two boys are the two kids that will be taking the exams. Make sure you look after them."

The soldier nodded and lead the Elrics to their seats in a large room. Ed looked around and saw a wide variety of people from all over the country. He suddenly felt nervous as though everyone in here was staring at him. _"Yes, they are all my opponents."_, he thought. All of the other candidates were a very real threat to Ed becoming a State Alchemist since the military would only recruit a small number at a time.

Each of the Alchemist present were seated an equal space apart and given five hundred questions in varying orders. The test administrator was Brigadier General Basque Gran. The large man stepped forward and shouted, "BE QUIET ALL OF YOU!" Quickly everyone fell silent and Gran continued speaking loudly so that all could hear, "You dirt bags are all here for the sole purpose of becoming State Alchemist. Well I'm here to tell you that most of you sissies won't make it. You see I was placed here to weed out the weak...and all I can see right now are wannabe State Alchemists."

Gran started pacing around the room looking over each candidate. "You will have two hours to complete the written exam. Anyone caught cheating will be booted out immediately without question. As for those of you who think that you can get away with it, I've placed well trained observers throughout the room and I can assure you that they will catch you. If you so much as think a dirty thought I will know about it." The Brigadier General smiled seeing so many already shaken by his announcement and said, "Now...begin."

Ed didn't need further encouragement and quickly began working on his paper. The questions were long and required equally long answers which slowed the young angel down more than he was comfortable with.

Alphonse was also having difficulties with many of the questions. Not only were they long, but they were also incredibly complex. _"Of course these questions are going to be hard, it's their way of finding the best candidates. Still...if the first part is this hard, what about the other two tests?"_, the younger Elric wondered making it to the third question.

* * *

Elsewhere a man and woman spoke. "So they are the children of Hoenheim? I knew that they would come here soon enough.", said the woman.

"Yes, it seems that Colonel Mustang helped them along. It's the only reason why the boys were allowed to take the certification tests.", replied a deep voice. "So what do you wish done with them, Master?"

"Nothing just yet, Pride. They'll eventually seek out the stone on their own...all we have to do is wait.", said the woman.

* * *

Roy having just made it back to the main building of Central HQ cautiously looked for any signs of the angry First Lieutenant. "What a relief. I thought for sure she'd still be waiting here with that gun.", said Mustang as he made his way back to his desk.

Maes walked up beside his old friend and smiled. "Well Roy it looks like you just might survive today. Although I was a little surprised that you pictured Riza in that tight leather number."

"Well you admit...she would look good in it.", said Mustang defending his dream. He'd had already gained a number of supporters since he announced that when he became Fuhrer that he would add a rule the required all female officers to wear tight mini-skirts. Maes already had a wife so he wasn't helping Roy for that. The two men went way back and they would always support the other when they needed it most. Unfortunately Roy was going to need a lot of support if Riza caught him.

"Roy I'd recommend that you avoid Hawkeye for the rest of the day and you may just come out of this alive.", advised Hughes as he started to walk out of Roy's office.

"Thanks Hughes, really.", replied Mustang. He saw Hughes stop at the open door and just stand there. "Was there something else?"

"Yeah, how fast can you run?", asked Maes.

"I don't know, why?", asked Mustang.

Maes stepped to the side to reveal Hawkeye still holding her gun and an angry look on her face. "That's why.", said Hughes pointing towards Hawkeye.

Mustang immediately ducked through the open window thanking his lucky stars that his office was on ground level. He looked back to see Riza following right behind him, so he made to duck by the Fuhrer to hopefully hide himself. After all surely Riza wouldn't shoot him right in front of Bradley.

* * *

The Fuhrer was sitting down in a comfortable seat watching a giant fountain and drinking herbal tea. "Ah what a peaceful day...what a calm, peaceful day.", he said looking at all the beauty of the city around him. The blissful silence was interrupted when he saw Mustang come running from around a nearby corner and a short distance behind him was Riza Hawkeye. They both blew past him and the old man smiled, "Ah...young love."

"You're going to die Colonel!", shouted Hawkeye as the soldiers of Central quickly cleared a path for her not wanting to get in the woman's way.

* * *

Back at the exams the Elric brothers had just finished with their first test. Alphonse managed to get about half way through while Edward was able to get about seventy-five percent of the questions.

"Man that test was a killer.", complained the angel.

"Mustang and I told you that it would be brother.", said Alphonse. The armor walked side by side with his brother as they exited the building to return to their assigned rooms. When people applied to take the certification exams, the military provided rooms until the exams were over. Matters such as food and clothing were your concern.

"Al, tonight I think that I'd gonna go out for a 'stroll'.", said Edward.

"Be careful brother. There are a lot more people here in Central than back home, you'll get caught if you're not careful.", warned Alphonse knowing that Ed wouldn't listen. Back in their hometown Ed would go out for nightly 'strolls'...in the sky. Alphonse always wondered what it would be like to have wings and he couldn't help but feel a little envious of his older brother. When Ed slept and left his wings out his face would soften and he truly looked like an angel.

During the past few years the elder brother had learned a little about his angelic nature and could perform some low level spells. The best he could do was an attack called 'Angel Feathers', where the feathers from his wings shot forward as hundreds of sharp knives. The first time that Edward had tried that one he'd pinned Winry to the wall and when she got loose she unleashed her entire collection of wrenches on the poor boy. _"Who would've thought that Winry had over four hundred and eighty-two wrenches?"_, thought Al.

* * *

Author's Note: When I do the rewrites for FMA episodes I will be doing most of it from memory. So I am sorry I miss anything and don't be surprised if I skip certain episodes. If you want to really see one particular please leave the Episode number in a review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this fic itself.

**FullAngel Alchemist**

Thoughts _"blah"_

Chapter 2

Ed flew gracefully across the sky's of Central careful not to be seen. Normally after a two hours he'd go back to his room and try to sleep, but tonight was a different story. Right now the military officials were grading all of their papers and tomorrow they would announce who passed and who failed.

He seriously doubted that Al was doing any better than he was. His nerves were on edge and he just wanted to punch something. _"Too bad Mustang's not around. I like to wipe the eternal smirk off of his face."_

Making one last pass over Central HQ he saw Maes Hughes walking with a square box in hand. Ed decided to snoop into Hughe's business and started tailing the man.

Maes turned down one road and headed to another. The military officer and soon to be father was making it very difficult for Ed to keep up with him without the man noticing his presence. Ed also found it very annoying listening to the tune that Hughes kept humming to himself while shaking his head back and fourth.

Eventually Ed realized exactly where Hughes was heading. _"Crap he's headed for Tucker's! He always checks in on us and is bound to follow that little tradition of his tonight. Why did you have to choose tonight of all nights to do that!"_ The chibi-angel gained altitude and sped up trying to reach Tucker's before Maes arrived.

* * *

Ed flew through the open window ploying into his little brother Alphonse. Unfortunately the battle between a thick headed angel and armored little brother ended with Al being the victory and Ed nursing a swollen head.

Al quickly rushed to help his brother back up and asked, "Brother what's wrong? Why the big hurry?"

Before Ed could answer the door to Tucker's home flew open with a loud thud. Both Elrics knew that they were both seconds away from Ed's condition being exposed. Al quickly grabbed his brother's jacket and tossed it to him. "Hurry Ed, get it on."

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Ed replied desperately. Stuffing his wings into the red jacket he quickly went to work buttoning the jacket up. Al assisted by helping Ed button the jacket starting at the bottom.

They finished with the jacket, but Ed's wings still pushed the red material out further than usual due to the rush Ed had been in trying to get them under the jacket. Before Ed could relax himself enough to adjust his wings the door to their room flew open.

Al swore that he saw lightening and heard thunder when their guest entered the room. "HOLD ME," Al shouted pulling Edward into a bear hug.

"AL...Let go...you're crushing me," said Ed as he vainly tried to escape his sibling's stranglehold.

"Hi ya Edward, Alphonse. Did I frighten you?" The figure hit the light switch allowing the frightened boy to see who it was.

Al released his iron tight grip on Ed who promptly fell to the floor and started twitching. Maes and the younger Elric looked at the immobile teen. "Ooops," said Al.

Hughes just continued grinning while the suit of armor lifted the angry blonde. "Well it's good to see that you two are doing well. I just came by to drop a few things off and see what you were up to."

Both boys quickly started talking at the same time resulting in a headache for Hughes. He grabbed and held both of their mouths shut and said, "Ok...what I got fromAlis that Ed was doing something incredibly stupid and Alphonse was covering for you."

"Hey," shouted Ed.

Al looked away confirming Hughe's Elric-to-normal person translation. The suit of armor thought quickly and said, "Brother was just looking around Central, that's all that he was doing."

Maes looked at the chibi-alchemist with a disappointed look and said, "You shouldn't be traveling around Central at night unless it's an emergency and even then you should never travel alone." His face softened and he sighed, "Just don't do it again or else I'll have guards posted outside of this window."

"What are we? Prisoners?" Ed was outraged that he was being told that he couldn't leave at night. Everyone knew that Ed thought of rules more along the line...of guidelines than actual rules.

Al reentered the conversation trying to negotiate for both parties saying, "Can't we compromise? If brother travels anywhere at night we'll tell Mr. Tucker where we are going and when we expect to be back. Should we not be able to return at our estimated time we will call and explain why. Sound good?"

Hughes shook his head. "I'm sorry boys, but I can't let the two of you do that." The soldier took a few moments to think about something and then said, "I know that the two of you think that this is unfair, but I can't let anything happen to you guys."

Ed saw something in the older man's eyes that he hadn't noticed before. Following his gut instinct he demanded, "What are you hiding from us Hughes? And don't give me any of that 'classified' crap."

Al stayed quiet not knowing what his brother was up to. In cases like this the best thing that Al found that he could do was wait and listen before acting.

Ed tapped his foot on the ground impatiently and said, "I'm waiting."

"Alright, but you have to promise me that you want leave with supervision and most certainly not at night if it can be helped." When Ed gave no sign of argument Maes took that as a yes. "Lately there have been a number of murders scattered across Central. So far the police have no suspects and many of those killed were more than capable of putting up a fight. Ed some of them could have easily taken you down and yet they were killed."

Ed nodded in understanding. "So there's a serial killer on the loose." He knew that this wasn't good, especially if the lunatic had seen Edward flying through the sky. No doubt that this psycho would want to add him to the list of victims. Slowly he asked, "How many?"

"Thirty-four that we know of. The assailant or assailants apparently like chopping people into tiny pieces," answered Hughes.

Both brothers looked away in disgust. They knew that they would have to be extra careful or else they'd be caught and/or killed. The last thing that they wanted was some lunatic informing the military that Ed had wings. They'd have him locked away in some dark, wet lab somewhere nobody had ever heard of and run painfully experiments on him.

"Fine," said Edward. "We'll be careful if we go out and we'll try to limit our trips at night." _"Then again I doubt that the killer can fly...or maybe they can and that's why they haven't been caught. All he or she has to do is dive in, grab the victim, and fly out."_

Hughes gave a skeptical look knowing that the Elrics were extremely stubborn and he didn't know whether or not to believe Ed. "Don't disappoint me Ed, Al. I'd hate to lose you boys." With that said he shut the door and went back down stairs.

"Looks like we won't be getting much sleep tonight," commented Al in disappointment.

* * *

The next day bright and early Maes woke both boys up. "Good morning sleepyheads. Come on now, wake up. It's a beautiful day here in Central and Glacier is with my beautiful boy or girl."

Ed cracked open an eye and said, "Hughes unless you want to be transmuted into a toaster oven I suggest that you put a sock in it."

Maes wasn't the least bit intimidated by Ed's comment, but he did notice something odd. "Ed why did you sleep in your jacket? You didn't go out after you told me that you wouldn't, did you?"

Al quickly stated, "We haven't left Tucker's home all night." Conveniently he left out the part where Ed had already been out for a relaxing flight.

Maes seemed to not believe Al for a few minutes and leaned in closer examining the glowing red eyes. He knew that he couldn't read Al like that, but if the boy was nervous he'd crack. When Alphonse didn't seem to be the least bit rattled Hughes smiled and said, "Ok. Now come down stairs boys. That's an order."

As soon as the future dad walked out Ed muttered, "...not even part of the military yet and he's giving me orders."

* * *

When the boys came down stairs they found Tucker, Nina, Alexander, and Glacier sitting around the huge dinning room table. What concerned them was that Maes was nowhere in sight.

"_Uh-oh! Angel senses tingling!"_ Ed shifted his eyes around the room looking for the danger.

Both Elrics felt a slap on their backs. Ed of course hit the floor and quickly got back on his feet glaring at the man behind him.

Maes stood there with a triumphant grin on his face and said, "You know I did a little digging and found out that you've been keeping secrets from me Edward."

"_Oh crap! He knows! But how?"_ Ed braced himself for a fight knowing that this could get ugly.

"Hmm." Maes reached down on the floor and picked up something bringing it up to where the brothers could see it. "Hello, what do we have here?", he said twirling a single feather around between his fingers. Taking his eyes off of the solid white feather he looked back at the boys. He noted that Ed had turned pale and the eye sockets of Al's armor was filled completely with red. "Ed are you alright?"

Shaken from his thoughts back Alphonse hitting him on the head with his armored forearm Ed said, "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'll take that." The blonde quickly snatched the feather out of Maes' hand and tucked it away in his pocket.

Hughes just shrugged it off and said, "That reminds me. I want to go bird hunting sometime soon. I'll shoot down the biggest one that I can find."

The Angel Alchemist's face turned pale again and a dark cloud appeared over Ed's head. _"Great! I'm going to be shot at!"_

"So what is it that you think that brother's been keeping from you?" asked Alphonse. He was nervous because he didn't want to lose his brother or for both of them to be put in labs for study.

Maes leaned in and said, "I think that you both know what I'm talking about." With the looks on their faces turning to fear he continued, "Yes, I'd say that you both know exactly what I'm talking about." He reached for something that had been set on the other side of the door.

"_This is!"_ thought Edward.

The younger Elric thought to himself as he dropped into a fighting position, _"Why did it have to come to this?"_

Both Elrics started to attack when Hughes jerked something in front of himself. "Surprise Edward! Happy Birthday!"

Ed stopped in time, but for his brother it was too late. Al's fist took off part of the cake and circled back around towards Edward. The next thing that Ed knew his face was sore and covered in cake. "Hmmm...whipped cream frosting."

Glacier stood up and asked, "Ed are you alright?"

The pipsqueak nodded and used his tongue to pull as much of the cake as he could into his mouth. It was obvious to both Hughes that the teen was happily munching on the pastry even if it was scattered all over his face.

Maes looked at Al and asked, "What was that about? Don't tell me that you don't like whipped cream frosting. It's the best kind."

"Umm, yeah that's it. I allergic to it." said Al chuckling slightly. _"Good save."_

When Ed's face was visible again he asked, "Is this what you were talking about?"

Maes leaned in so that only Ed could hear and replied, "Don't worry so much. Mustang told me about all and how you lost your arm. Your secret is safe with me...and Roy."

The chibi-alchemist believed Hughes, but he would never trust Mustang anymore than he absolutely had to.

The Elrics relaxed and enjoyed the party that everyone had put together for them. Later on that day Maes was called away on some urgent business and Glacier was left in their care.

As luck would have it shortly after her husband left Glacier's water broke all over Tucker's new couch.

"_And I just finished paying it off too."_ the alchemist thought to himself.

After the first forty-five minutes Hughes called and said, "The weather has take a turn for the worse. I'm snowed in here and I won't be able to make it back tonight."

In the background Glacier shouted, "MAES YOU ASSHOLE! YOU DID THIS TO ME! I'M GONNA CUT'EM OFF WHEN YOU GET BACK! YOU COWARD, YOU SHOULD BE HERE!"

All present knew that Hughes was now glad that he was where he was. The Elrics followed Tucker's instructions and gathered up a small tub of hot water and lots of towels.

Ed made the mistake of letting Mrs. Hughes hold his hand...or rather crush it. Even with his Angel strength he was quickly defeated by this woman and screaming louder than she was. "OW! OW! My hand!"

Alphonse thought, _"He should've listened."_

When Ed finally pried his crushed hand out of the woman's grasp he excused himself to check on the tub. The water had already turned cold, the baby was due at any moment, and his hand felt like it had met a trash compactor. "This is just pissing me off." He slapped his hands together and pulled them apart quickly realizing his mistake. As he nursed one hand he set the other on the rim of the tub. With a bright flash of light the water was heated again. _"I...I transmuted...without a circle. Now that'll be handy."_

When it was all over Ed and Al smiled at their good work. It was truly a wonderful feeling to help bring a life into this world.

"Well I guess that Mustang lost that bet. He had fifty on it being a boy." Ed was going to love rubbing this one in the lecherous Colonel's face.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry about the lack of updates lately. I'm trying to handle several stories at once right now. I'll try to update faster if I get more reviews. Later.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this fic itself.

**FullAngel Alchemist**

Thoughts _"blah"_

Chapter 3

Three months following the birth of the newest member of the Hughes family Mustang sent for Edward and Alphonse. Both of the Elric brothers had passed the first part of the exams and soon the second half would be administered. As usual the elder brother was in a foul mood being 'summoned' by Mustang. He kept muttering about 'how that evil bastard thinks that he's too good to come to us.'

"Brother Mustang's just a very busy man. He can't take the time to come all the way to Tuckers just to see us and then travel back to the other side of Central." Al knew that the odds of the short-tempered Alchemist listening were slim to none, but he had been listening to this ever since Maes delivered the summons.

"_Evil Mustang…must kill him in some cruel, inhumane way."_ Every time Roy was mentioned Al claimed that Ed let his feathers get all ruffled up for nothing. Edward was convinced that it was his angelic nature trying to say that Mustang was some kind of demon and must be killed.

The Elric brothers entered Central HQ and made their way to the Colonel's office. As soon as they opened the door Roy said, "Alphonse it's good to see you, but where's that brother of yours. I can't seem to find him over this paperwork."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THAT THEY COULD BE CRUSHED BY AN ANT?" Ed's infamous short temper had led him straight into another one of Mustang's traps.

The Colonel laughed at the elder Elric's explosive temper. _"He's just too easy. My day has just been made a little better by provoking the shrimp."_ When the Colonel finally stopped laughing he turned his attention to Alphonse. "Al I wanted to talk with you in particular."

"Whatever you have to say to my brother you can say to me too," said Edward jumping in front of Al as though he expected Mustang to attack.

"Brother it's okay," said Al. He then addressed the Flame Alchemist asking, "What did you want to see me about sir?"

Roy sighed and stood. He walked around the desk and stopped right in front of Al. "I want you to consider dropping out of the Alchemist Exams."

The younger Elric sputtered, "But why? Why should I drop out? I can still make it."

"Because before you can take the second half of the Exam you have to take a physical. Do you understand now?" He knew that they did, but he wanted to make sure that he'd gotten his point across.

Both Elric's look away, Al in sadness and Ed in shame. The suit of armor nodded and he said, "I understand. I'll withdraw from the test."

Edward set his hand on his brother's should and said, "I promise that I'll become a State Alchemist and get you your body back. I can't lose you Al and we both know that you'd be taken to a lab for research if they found out about you." The whole time he was talking both he and Al were thinking the same thing. _"The pot calling the kettle black."_

"_I wonder how brother's going to get his wings by the physician. I don't want him to put in a lab, but he does have a better chance not getting caught than I do."_ Al picked up the form that Mustang had already set at the edge of the desk. It was a withdrawal form that the Colonel had already approved. All the Alphonse had to do was complete and sign the form for it to be valid.

Fifteen minutes later the younger Elric had finished the form and handed it to the Flame Alchemist.

"Looks good," said Mustang as he reviewed the form. When the boys reached the door he called out, "See you tomorrow half-pint."

"WHY YOU SON OF A-" Before Ed could finish his verbal retaliation his brother had strong-armed him out of the room and held him so that he couldn't get free to go back.

"Brother you really need to work on that temper of yours," said the armor. Al knew that his older brother wasn't likely to listen. The last time that he, Winry, and Pinako tried to send Ed to anger management classes the instructor ended up with a broken arm and a black eye.

For the rest of the day all Ed did was study for the next part of the Exam and plot his revenge on Mustang.

* * *

"So the runt passed the first part of the Exams…no surprise there. The boy is after all 'his' son." Envy sat next to Lust and looked out at Central with a look of disgust.

"He seems to be exactly what we're looking for. We'll just have to make sure that he stays on the path of our choice." Lust had been watching the Elric brothers since they first gained the attention of the Military.

Envy scoffed and said, "You know that he'll never do it. He's too much of a child with all his…noble ideas and crap."

"He's not as noble as you think Envy. He just needs a push in the right direction and we'll finally accomplish our goal." Lust was sure that the boy could be turned since his own goal was ultimately to locate or create a Philosopher Stone.

Envy just humphed and walked out. Lust had no doubts that the older Sin was going to stir up trouble with a few nobodies.

* * *

The next day the second part of the State Alchemist Exam began. Basque Gran entered looking as 'cheerful' as ever. The applicants all grew silent upon seeing the Brigadier General enter.

Gran stared out into the smaller crowd and said, "Congratulations rats. You are passed the first half of the Exam, but don't get cocky. Out of all of you mongrels only a select few will be allowed the honor of becoming State Alchemists."

The Brigadier General started pacing around the room making mental notes of the current condition of the applicants. Most of them seemed to be nervous and afraid of Gran. He liked being feared and there was good reason to fear the man. He could kill everyone in the room and not even notice that he'd done it.

Finally he made it to one pair of eyes that still held a strong defiance within them. A pair of golden eyes locked with Gran's and the Brigadier General was angered that he hadn't broken this one yet. _"I'll have to find out who that one is later."_ Gran walked back in front of the crowd and said, "The next portion of the Exam is the practical skills segment. During this part of the test you will be given whatever supplies you wish and you rats will show what you can do."

Brasque led the applicants out of the building and to the parade grounds. He gave each of the participants a sheet of paper and told them to write down what they would need.

After collecting the papers and waiting for the materials the Brigadier General again addressed the crowd, "Alright rats you're going to have the privilege to perform your practical skills before the Fuhrer. It's a real honor for you underlings."

Edward's wings stiffened along with the rest of his body. _"The Fuhrer is going to be watching? This is going to make it that much harder. I'm going to have to go all out to impress him if the stories that I've heard."_

The applicants were forced to stand around in the heat and waited for their supplies to be delivered. The Fuhrer and his Secretary walked out onto the parade grounds. The two surveyed the Alchemists present. Bradley's eyes stopped when they found Edward's and for thirty-five seconds they remained there before scanning the rest of the crowd.

"_What was that about? Don't tell me that he's going to be harder on me than the others. Maybe it's because he's surprised to see someone so young taking this exam? Yeah, that's it…After all I'm the youngest Alchemist to take the State certification exam."_ Ed got a look at the materials that the other Alchemists had called for and he tried to guess what they were going to try to make.

When everyone finally had everything that they needed each Alchemist arranged the materials and drew their transmutation circles. Ed smiled to himself knowing that he had an advantage over the other people present.

The first man used the ground to transmute a huge spire, but the transmutation completely exhausted him. The Fuhrer had his Secretary make a note of this and then turned back to the crowd to watch the next applicant.

The next man used trees and water to transmute a huge hot air balloon. The balloon wasn't perfect and had many physical defects that were apparent to everyone including the Fuhrer.

Bradley looked at the display in disappointment and muttered, "That one would need a lot of work…"

As the hot air balloon rose in the sky the wind changed direction and blew it towards the giant spire. Everyone realized what was about to happen and started running for cover, but it was too late. The balloon hit the spirit and popped before falling down towards the people on the ground below.

The Fuhrer stopped Gran and his Secretary from running away and said, "I don't think that it's over yet. Look over there."

Gran followed Bradley's line of sight to a blonde haired alchemist. _"The boy is out of his mind. He'll be crushed by that thing."_

Ed clapped his hands together and transmutes the previous two transmutations into rose petals.

Everyone looked on at the spectacle in awe. Never before had any of them witnessed such an impossible feat. A transmutation without a circle was almost completely unheard of. There had only been some stories of a few rare Alchemists that could transmute without circles.

Brasque Gran now understood why Mustang had gone out of his way to help this boy get the chance at the State Alchemist Certification Exam. _"He knew that this little whelp could be used to further his own career. I've had my eye on Hoenheim's offspring for some time and I suspected that they would be as talented as Hoenheim, but I never thought that one of them would be capable of something like this at his age. Damn you Mustang!"_ Gran's anger was centered on the fact that the children had actually sought out Mustang. He had intended to make contact once they were of age, but no, Mustang just had to get his hands on them first.

Fuhrer King Bradley walked over to Edward and patted the young man on the shoulder. "Congratulations. I think that we've found an excellent State Alchemist. Gran see to it that this young man is well taken care of."

Ed was beyond surprised that Bradley had just made him a State Alchemist because of an impulsive reaction. He hadn't intended for that to be what he used to impress the Brass, but it did the trick just fine. _"One step closer to my ultimate goal. Hold on just a little longer Al."

* * *

_

Later that night the Flame Alchemist met with Ed and Alphonse at Tuckers. The Sewing Life Alchemist had decided to throw a party to celebrate Ed's accomplishment.

"Well, well…it seems that you've done quite well for yourself pipsqueak," said Mustang. Immediately a plate full of cake went flying at the Flame Alchemist's head. The plate hit it's target and cake was splattered on the Colonel's face.

"Don't call me pipsqueak," said Ed knowing that his angelic nature was asserting itself. Normally he would've exploded a lot more violently than that, but the angel in him wouldn't allow it. This kind of thing happened from time to time and it was something that Al preferred.

"Forgive brother Mustang. Can I ask why you are here? Did you come to celebrate with us?" Alphonse offered a napkin to the Colonel.

Wiping the cake from his face Roy glared at the smirking short-tempered alchemist. "I came here to give Ed his second name. The Fuhrer came up with an interesting name for you to be sure." Roy pulled a small envelope out of his pocket and offered it to Edward.

As soon as Ed reached for it Mustang pulled it over the young Alchemist's head. "Oh yeah, that's real mature Mustang. Hand me that stupid letter now!"

Instead of listening Roy pulled the letter higher above Ed's head. "I don't know if you deserve this letter now. I mean it's such a big letter it might crush you."

Alphonse's eyes bugged out as he heard his brother clap his hands. "Ed don't do it!"

But it was already too late. Ed slammed his hands down on the ground and the wood pulled Mustang down into it. The lower half of the Flame Alchemist's body was hanging from the roof in the basement while the upper half was high enough to meet Ed's knees. Taking advantage of Mustang's plight Ed grabbed the letter and read it. When he got to the bottom he read the last part out loud, "I hereby give you the name FullMetal Alchemist."

"Now do you mind getting me out of the floor," said the Flame Alchemist. This was one of those few times that he actually regretted picking a fight with the FullMetal pipsqueak.

Winry chose now of all times to reenter the room carrying a bowl of punch. As soon as she saw the raven-haired man she glared at Edward. "Let me guess…he said something about your height and as usual you behaved like a child and did this?"

Al nodded while Ed tried to look innocence. Despite being an angel Ed couldn't pull off the innocent act very well. The worst part was that the young angel had discovered that he couldn't lie very easily. His angelic nature made lying about as easy as pulling teeth from a loose chimera.

Ed was forced to transmute Mustang out of the floor, but rather than pulling him up the elder Elric dropped Roy all the way through the floor. The Flame Alchemist landed in Nina's old baby crib that had been placed in storage in the basement.

"FULLMETAL…"


	5. Love Struck or Death Sentence?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this fic itself. Also I apologize for not updating soon. I've been suffering from the dreaded Writer's Block.

**FullAngel Alchemist**

Thoughts _"blah"_

Chapter 4

After the party last night Ed went up to his room and immediately bolted the door shut and took off his coat and shirt allowing his wings the freedom that they so desired. "Damn this is starting to become a real pain. There's gotta be a better way to hide these things...I could try cutting them off, but something tells me that they'd just regenerate."

The FullMetal Alchemist thought back to the brief meeting he'd had with the Furher and several other high ranking Generals. They'd simply asked him to sit down in a strange looking chair, which he easily did. It wasn't until after that he'd learned that that was the third test. Only a true alchemist could sit in the chair and maintain their balance. The chair reacts to the alchemical energy inside of the person that sat on it and seemingly bolts itself to the floor. But that isn't what had sent up red flags during the meeting. Bradley had stood up and shook Ed's hand and was assaulted by a feeling of intense cold, maybe even pure evil.

Brushing it aside since he had no proof Ed covered himself with his wings and quickly fell asleep. At night the teen had learned that mostly all that he dreamt about was flying in the open sky unhindered by the fear of others seeing him. It always gave the blond a sense of everlasting peace and calm, but he prefered the real thing which is why he liked his hometown so much. There were plenty of places he could fly without fear of being seen. "I wonder what tomorrow will bring." he said before allowing sleep to claim him.

* * *

The next morning when Edward finally pulled himself out of bed he could hear Al and Tucker down stairs talking with the man about his visitor earlier that morning.

"Gran would be the type to deliver this kind of news with a smile on his face." spat Tucker. He knew that Brasque was only interested in power and could care less who he stepped on to get it.

Ed walked down stairs with his coated buttoned and pretended not to have heard Tucker. _"Last thing I need is for anyone to know that my hearing is greater than that of any human. It sucks especially since Al snores at night. Speaking of which, how can a suit of armor snore anyway?"_

Entering the room Ed greeted, "Morning. What's going on? I've only seen that look on Al's face after seeing a cat get run over."

The suit of armor glared at his brother. _"Leave it to brother to rub salt into a wound."_ "This is seriously brother. Tucker is most likely going to lose his state certification as an alchemist."

"He's right Edward. Last year I had low marks on my assessment, so unless I can come up with something groundbreaking..." He turned towards Nina and watched her playing with the family dog.

Ed saw several emotions pass across his face before he turned his attention back to the Elric brothers. _"I know that I saw guilt and desperation on his face. Well that can't be good. A desperate man is a dangerous man...I'll have to keep an eye on him."_ "Why not make another one of those special chimeras that you're so famous for? I think that would certainly impress the brass." Again the angel saw both emotions plain as day on the other alchemist's face and it worried him. He could sense that something really sick was likely to happen, but he had no idea what.

Smiling as best he could Tucker replied, "Yes that sounds like a wonderful idea, but creating a talking chimera was very difficult. I'm not sure if I can manage it again and it died shortly after being transmuted. Still...this could be my only chance to keep my certification."

Alphonse was completely oblivious to the undercurrent of the conversation as most of his attention was focused on Alexander and Nina. "Oh brother I forgot to tell you, Mustang wants to see you for something. He said that it was very imporant and something about getting the paper work out of the way before Hawkeye shot him."

"Hmmmmm? To go and find out what he wants or wait and let Hawkeye shoot him? Decisions, decisions." Ed shot Alphonse a devious look that made the younger Elric swear that Ed was a demon instead of an angel.

"You wouldn't?" inquired the younger brother. Of course he knew that Edward would do something like this just to see Mustang's grin wiped off of his face. Thinking fast before the angel could make up his mind Al said, "It might be something important to you becoming a State Alchemist. You don't want to blow this, right?"

_"Damn it Al. Did you have to rain on my parade? I so wanted to see Mustang being wheeled through a hospital with a bullet hole in his back side. I'd be able to torment him with that for the rest of my life."_ He sighed and answered, "Oh well, I guess that you're right. Let's go see what the Colonel wants 'this time'."

As soon as the door slammed shut Shou slowly gets up and walks over to Nina and Alexander. He leans down with a minaical look on his face and sweetly says, "You want to help daddy, right Nina? Daddy needs you and Alexander to help him just like mommy did."

Nina being the sweety, naive little girl that she is just nods even though she's actually scared right now. The only other time that she had seen that look on her daddy's face was the night that her mother went to heaven.

* * *

Upon arriving at Central HQ the brothers entered the building and started walking down the empty halls towards the Colonel's office. "I wonder why it's so desserted brother?"

"It's the shift change Alphonse. Most of the military officers are signing in or signing out right now. It's nothing to worry about...who are you and why do you have wings?" growled Edward as he spotted something hovering in the hall.

Alphonse quickly followed Ed's line of sight and he saw...a wall and windows. Turning back to his brother he retraced the shorter Elric's line of sight and still got nothing of interest. Now he was really beginning to question his brother's sanity. "Brother are you ok? There's nothing there and where do you see wings?"

Pointing at the space Al had just be looking he shouted, "Right there. The strange guy with wings and on top of that he's got a bow in hand and arrows with heart-shaped tips." When Alphonse shook his head and muttered something about '...he's finally lost it.' Ed pointed at the winged being and demanded, "How is it I can see you, but my brother can't?"

The winged being smiled and said, "That's because I'm a cupid. I'm kind of like you angels except I don't fight. My job is to spread love whether those humans like it or not Muwahahahahahaha!!!"

Ed started backing away and Alphonse quickly did the same seeing the disturbed look on his brother's face. "Brother what did it...eh, he say?"

Ed turned slowly to his brother while keeping an eye on this 'cupid' and said, "Basically it's his job to spread love even if we humans don't like or want it."

The cupid jumped forward before the teen could react and landed his fist on top of Ed's cranium. "You're not human anymore short stuff."

That was the worst mistake he could have made. "WHO THE HELL ARE SAYING IS SO TINY THAT YOU NEED A MICROSCOPE TO FIND HIM!!!"

The cupid backed away with his hands up in surrender and said, "I only called you short stuff, not the rest of that...although." He turned back to Ed and smirked devilishly at him.

As soon as Ed saw the smirk adorning the cupid's face he clapped his hands together and transmuted his automail arm into his blade. "Keep going with that sentence. I dare you to."

"No, I don't think so. Besides I'm not here to torment you Edward." Extending his hand towards the Alchemist he said, "My name is Coop and I was told to bring you a message from the Higher-ups. While you are forced to live as an angel you have to take assignments and carry them out just like you're going to have to do with Mustang. In exchange any information available concerning putting your brother back in his body will be made available to you...in time."

"What do you mean 'in time'?!" demanded Ed. Pointing his blade at Coop he made it known that he would use force if the cupid didn't give a straight answer.

Coop sighed and replied, "I'm certain that there is a way to put your brother back into his body, but you have to earn the right to that knowledge. Besides your biggest concern would be those that you are going to have to hunt down."

Alphonse continued to watch his brother seemingly talk to himself, but he knew by now that there was indeed someone or something else there conversing with Ed. He felt left out that he couldn't hear or see the other being and he knew that he'd have to pry the information out of Edward later.

"And who exactly do I have to hunt down? For that matter why should I?" said Edward dismissing his blade and crossing his arms.

Coop gave a sympathetic look and said, "Understand that this is non-negotiable. You have to hunt down and destroy beings called Homunculi."

Before he could say more Ed burst in saying, "Homunculi are not real. That's just a myth with no real evidence to support their existence."

The cupid winced at Ed's screech. Firmly he stated, "Don't forget you're an angel. Something that, to most people of this world, would be considered a myth too. I assure you that these things are real and very dangerous. If you are thinking about not doing it then let me add this: Even if you don't hunt them, when they learn of your existence, then they'll be hunting you. They'll stop at nothing to kill you simply because you are an angel. Homunculi are the physical representation of the seven deadly sins. In other words they are evil incarnate, the exact opposite of what you are."

The gravity of the situation was finally starting to seep through Ed's thick skull. "They're going to try to kill me simply because I am what that damned 'Gate' made me."

"It was done as punishment you know. This wasn't meant to be nice or easy for you. Think of this as community service for your crimes." said Coop. He knew the hell that the young blond was going to go through trying to kill those things and he couldn't help but wish that this fate hadn't been forced on such a young boy. Coop sighed knowing that wishing was pointless and said, "Now you really should go see what Mustang wants and try to digest what I just told you."

Before the alchemist could object Coop just disappeared in a flash. _"How the hell did he do that? I've gotta learn to use these powers of mine like that. I still don't even know my limits or how to control them that well."

* * *

_

On the way to the Colonel's office Ed retold Coop's story to Alphonse. To say that the younger brother was in shock was an understatement. "How could they do this Ed? We're only kids, so how could they expect us to be able to handle Homunculi?"

"According to Coop that's the point. Something that benefits this world, but is extremely difficult for me to accomplish. I'm sure that I can do it if I can master these angel powers." Ed stopped just outside of the main offices and stared down at his hands. For a brief three seconds his hands glowed a light blue before fading away. "I wonder just how strong I really am."

"Edward get in here!"

_"How did Mustang know that I'm out here?"_ Opening the door he grumbled, "What do you want now Mustang?"

"Come here and find out." replied Roy not looking up from his paperwork. This convinced Ed that Hawkeye was somewhere nearby if Mustang was actually doing his paperwork.

When the Elrics entered Roy's office sure enough Riza was in the corner almost glaring at Roy. Upon closer inspection Ed determined that Mustang was sweating. He smirked and thought to himself, _"Yep Roy's pissed her off again. Probably let months of paperwork 'mysteriously' disappear."_ "Well, what is it?"

Mustang glanced at Hawkeye as though asking for her permission and then reached into his desk. He pulled out a golden watch with a lion inscribed on the cover. Both Elrics recognized it as the state seal. Roy threw the watch to Ed who caught it none too gracefully and said dully, "Congratulations. You are now a dog of the state. You may go now."

Alphonse like his brother was puzzled by Roy's lack of enthusiasm. "Is that it? I thought that there was supposed to be some ellaborate ceremony or something since brother passed the state certification exam." Ed just nodded dumbly feeling cheated and insulted.

The Flame Alchemist looked up from his paperwork with a bored expression on his face and said, "There's some icecream in the fridge in the lounge. Go congratulate yourself." He then turned back to the paperwork when he heard Riza clear her throat. He knew that that was her signal that she knew he was trying to slack off.

The young state alchemist walked outside of the room into the large workspace for the other officers and ran into Hughes and Havok. "Don't take it personally Ed. It's just not something we celebrate unless you've earned a metal or something like that." Hughes smiled and then pulled out his dread endless supply of pictures of his baby girl. "Isn't the cutest thing that you ever laid eyes on? I'll bet that you're hoping for the same thing from Winry."

Both Elrics' eyes practically shot out of their skulls or armor in Al's case. "WHAT!?"

"I don't- don't like Winry...atleast not like that!" barked Ed. Of course it would've been believable if he wasn't blushing furiously and desparately trying to look in any direction away from the other officers.

"Oh yes you do. I'm a cupid remember, so I know love 'like that' when I see it." called a familiar voice.

The blond alchemist groaned as he saw Coop appear in a flash of light. "Oh great. Not again."

Alphonse being the intelligent young man that he was immediately caught Ed's meaning and distracted everyone else. "Hughes could you show me and these guys all of your pictures of your daughter?"

The smile of Maes face would forever be burned into the nightmares of all present as he seemed to start pulling pictures out of thin air. And so it began...the dreaded photo album from hell AKA Maes' family photo album.

_"Brother you owe me **BIG TIME** for this and I intend to collect."_

While Al had everyone's attention focused on Maes' pictures, whether they wanted to or not, Ed was talking with Coop. "What are you doing here now? I got your message already."

Coop shrugged. "I decided to stick around and watch you for a while. You also lied about your feelings about Winry. You can't lie to me about love even if you won't admit it to yourself. I know for a fact that you have a crush on that girl despite what everyone else thinks."

Ed's face told all who looked that he knew that he was caught. Even so his pride wouldn't let him admit that Coop was right. His angelic nature made lying hard, so he chose to say nothing to rebute the cupid's accusation. _"Gotta change the topic fast."_ "How exactly do you make people fall in love with each other?"

The cupid grinned and lifted the bow from around his shoulder. "I just take an arrow and shoot the human that I want to fall in love with someone. The thing is that they fall in love with the first person that they see after being hit."

Edward scratched his head and asked, "Wouldn't shooting somone with an arrow kill them instead?"

Coop shook his head and replied, "If they were normal arrows, then yes. But these arrows are made of my magic just like your sword."

The alchemist's head shot up and he said, "Uh...what sword? I don't have a sword." Holding up his automail arm he added, "I've got this small blade, but it's not a sword. More like a dagger if anything."

"You just haven't learned how to summon it yet. Give it time and you'll learn." When Coop saw the inquizitive look on Ed's face he quickly added, "And I can't teach you. It's something that each angel has to learn on his or her own. You see the trigger is different for each person, so I can't really be of any help there. Sorry."

"That sucks. I was hoping that I could find someone to teach me how to control my powers or atleast tell me what they are." Ed sulked. _"Why can't I find a teacher...even if she/he's like my alchemy teacher?"_ Ed noticed Coop knotching an arrow on his bow and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Giving love a push in the right direction." was the simply reply

Ed looked in the direction that Coop was aiming and his eyes nearly popped out of his head for a second time that day. Right there in front of Coop was Riza Hawkeye standing in the doorway to the Colonel's office with her back turned to Ed. _"Oh this is going to end very badly. Um-hm."_ "Coop I don't think that's a good idea. You don't know how volatile that woman can be."

"Relax Edward. I do this all of the time." said the cupid before releasing the arrow. It pierced Riza's chest before turned into a red light that was absorbed into her chest. "Watch and learn."

Riza's eyes started to sparkle and immediately Roy sensed immient danger. Looking up from his work he saw Riza staring at him with a look that he'd only seen on her face in his dreams. In truth see that look on her face while he was awake terrified him to no end. He slowly stood and started backing up from his desk.

Hawkeye saw this and chuckled. "Now, now Roy. That's no way to act around a lady." she said as she started shaking her hips seductively and walking around the desk to a corned Mustang. Before she was completely away from the door she looked back and saw Ed's mouth hanging open. She grinned and shut the door blocking Ed's view, but not his enhanced hearing.

* * *

"Where were we? Oh, yes that's right." Hawkeye turned back to a frightened Roy and continued to stalk her prey. Her movements were so graceful and fluid just like a mighty beast stalking it's lunch.

Roy tried to bolt towards the door when Riza was half way around the desk, but Hawkeye was faster. She flipped him so that his back was on his desk and scorned him, "Roy you're going to have to play by my rules love." The next thing he knew a hand was felt unzipping his pants.

Finally his playboy persona managed to assert itself. "Riza what took you so long?"

* * *

Outside Ed felt sick on his stomach listening to them. "Surely they wouldn't do 'that' in here with everyone present."

Coop said, "I wouldn't bet on it. The magic can only work with what's already there buried underneath the rational mind." Turning to Edward he added, "This can end one of two ways: 1) They get married and have lots of kids -or- 2) She shoots him when the magic wears off in about an hour. Her normal mind will regain control and we'll see how things turn out."

The angel glanced at the door with a sympathetic look on his face. _"Roy is going to die and so would Coop if Riza ever finds out about this."_

Hawkeye sighed and answered, "Those naughty rules about relationships between yourself and your subordinates. Whoever made that rule needs to be punished severly."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ok now click that review button and tell me whatcha think.


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